Well actually we did have a paddle but just for emergencies and as we turned the last bend in the creek we cut the motor and drifted quietly to a halt. The put put noise of the engine was now replaced by the intermittent deafening sound of cicadas, or “avacadas” as they have come to be referred in our house, along with “mermalades” (mermaids) and seaweeds (seeds in mandarins).

Although not her first time in a boat, this was Hattie’s first trip in the tinny. Rhubarb stayed at home just to minimise the potential chaos on board.

The entrance to muddy creek just across from Swallow Rock is easy to miss and you’d only get all the way up there in a tinnie or a kyack. You need to go at high tide and we chose a cool, still overcast day for Hattie’s first outing.

We were rewarded for our peaceful drift up the last few metres by what I think was a water dragon sitting on a rock trying to pretend he wasnt there…..

If I can't see you...you can't see me

…and whilst sitting giving Hattie some lunch I saw the speedy orange and blue flash of a kingfisher zoom past, way to quick for me to catch on film.

Tea break

At the end of the creek are some large sandstone rocks which if you can batt away a bit of foliage you can walk through to some beautiful paddling pools and filled by slow flowing waterfalls as a result of recent heavy rains. A quick trip up muddy creek saw us only a few hundered metres from the boat ramp, but once you are around the bend, hidden by the gum trees and having a good brain cleansing courtesy of the avacadas, you could be a million miles from anywhere.